Anubis: Judge of Souls (8-27-14)

Hello. My name is Ahrah. I've reach rank 10 Anubis recently, and I felt I could help players, new and old, to Anubis. This guide will feature Abilities, Items, Gameplay, Do's and Don'ts, as well as a few Tips. This guide is for players who are new to playing Anubis, as well as some extra advice for more seasoned players.

So who is Anubis? Anubis is the Egyptian god of the dead, who weighs the hearts of humans on the scales of fate. If the heart ends up light, he allows the soul to pass on. But if it's too heavy, the heart is eaten by the monster Ammit, and the spirit never returns. In Smite, he is a Mage. In Conquest, you will usually see Anubis in the middle or solo lane. But he can function as a jungler or a support, if you play him correctly.

August 27th, 2014-

[*] Guide Created

August 31st, 2014-

[*] Added coding to items, abilities, and gods
[*] Added Matchups and Counters
[*] Added Change Log
[*] Added content to Gameplay
[*] Fixed 'Death Gaze' section repeating 'Itemization' section
[*] Combined all Ability sections into one

September 27th, 2014-

[*] Fixed example numbers related to Might Yawn in passive description

Pros
-Deals High Damage
-Flexible in many roles
-Takes down enemies quickly
-Uses lifesteal very well.


Cons
-Squishy
-No escape or mobility
-Rooted during 2 abilities
-High cooldowns early game

Passive: Sorrow

All of Anubis' abilities steal 7 physical and magical protection per tick from the target and he gains 33% scaling to his item-based magical lifesteal per tick, for 5s. Max of 3 stacks. In addition, Sorrow grants Anubis an additional 30% reduction to all crowd control durations (does not stack with Resolve).


There's a lot to take in here. Let's start with the easy stuff. 30% crowd control (or 'CC') reduction is an often overlooked feature. This means if Kumbhakarna were to use his full rank Mighty Yawn against you and another teammate (without any other factors), they would be mesmerized for 3 full seconds while Anubis would be mesmerized for roughly 2 seconds. That difference could mean the difference between life or death.

Secondly, he steals protections from enemies he hits with his abilites (max 3). This means each tick of an ability deals more damage for the first three ticks, making the enemy weaker against other forms of damage while making Anubis tougher for a short while.

Last, 33% item lifesteal scaling. This is pretty nice, since solo and mid-laners neat a good amount of sustain to stay in the lane. Let's take Bancroft Talon for example. On it's own, it gives the user 12% magic lifesteal. With the addition of Sorrow, Anubis gets 15.96% lifesteal!
Ability 1: Plague of Locusts

A plague of locusts bellows forth from Anubis' mouth, smothering all enemies in the area and doing 35/50/65/80/95 (+40% of your magical power) damage every .5s for 3s. Anubis is immune to knockback while channeling.
Cost: 60/70/80/90/100 mana.
Cooldown: 15/14/13/12/11 seconds.

This ability is a simple damage dealer. The catch here is that while he's immune to knockback, he becomes rooted, and can't move until the ability ends or is canceled. It does apply his passive, and he can swivel around to sweep any target within range.

I personally put one point into it at level 2, and max it last. But if the enemy can be easily CC'd by a teammate, max it earlier for more damage output.

Use this ability in conjunction with Mummify and Grasping Hands if your ultimate is on cooldown.


Ability 2: Mummify

Anubis fires a bandage projectile, mummifying and stunning his target for 1.2/1.4/1.6/1.8/2s.
Cost: 60 mana.
Cooldown: 18/17/16/15/14 seconds.

This ability his Anubis's only form of hard CC. A solid 2 seconds of stun can really turn the tide in a battle. There are a few reasons to use this in battle.

1: Save yourself or a teammate.
If an enemy is preparing to use an ability, Anubis can stop them for a brief moment to allow himself or teammates to escape.

2: Initiate
Enemies can easily move out of range from Anubis's abilities, so stunning them first makes it much easier to deal damage.

3: Chasing
Anubis does not have any way of boosting his speed, so to close in on a fleeing enemy, use the stun to prevent a kill from getting away.

Max this ability second if you want to give your enemies a hard time, or max it last if you'd rather deal more damage.


Ability 3: Grasping Hands

Anubis calls for help from the underworld as hands penetrate the ground and claw at his enemies, doing 25/40/55/70/85 (+35% of your magical power) damage and slowing them by 25% every .5s for 2s.
Cost: 70/80/90/100/110 mana.
Cooldown: 15/14/13/12/11 seconds.

Grasping Hands is Anubis's main damage dealer and waveclear. The slow acts as soft CC, but it should be used for damage over utility.

Place this ability underneath an opponent hit with Mummify, to ensure each tick of damage lands.

This should be the first ability you put a point into, as well as the first to max.


Ultimate: Death Gaze

Anubis focuses all of his energy into a piercing gaze, doing 23/28/33/38/43 (+15% of your magical power) damage to all enemies in the path, every 0.1 seconds for 3 seconds.
Cost: 90 mana.
Cooldown: 90/85/80/75/70 seconds.

This does a lot of damage. I mean, a lot of damage. Sure, each tick doesn't seem like a lot, but adding 15% of magical power, along with your passive and item bonuses, ticking 30 times in 3 seconds, this is sure to kill something.

However, it is a skillshot. The beam itself is very thin, so the enemy should be locked under heavy CC. And if you want to deal all that damage to the whole team, they'd have to be bunched up real close. (I'm looking at you, Ares.)

Now, the fact Anubis becomes rooted during this ability means a few things.

First, you are CC immune while casting. This can be a handy way to not get pulled into a tone of damage, but do not use it for that purpose. Use Death Gaze for picking up kills. Save CC immunity for Greater Purification and magi's blessing.

NOTE: This build is a suggestion, you do not have to follow it exactly. If you feel a different item is needed, do it.

Vampiric Shroud

This is a staring item for almost every mage. Killing a minion or god gives 10 health and mana, and is a good source of sustain early game. Once you have 5 fully built items, sell Vampiric Shroud for extra gold and an item slot.


Bancroft's Talon

This item should be the first to complete for Anubis, due to the early lifesteal advantage. When at rank 3, every 1% of your missing health gives you 1 magic power. When your'e at the brink of death, you gain about 99 magic power, so you can stave off foes chasing you for the kill.

Shoes of the Magi

Anubis's cooldowns lower as he levels up, so Shoes of Focus are a better choice for a more passive, team-oriented playstyle. But the penetration bonus of Shoes of the Magi can help peel away magical protections, and thus, deal more damage.

Spear of the Magus

Your passive stacks with this item, taking away more protections from hit. At rank 3, it removes 10 protections and an additional 10% per tick, (max 2). When Sorrow comes into play, your abilities take away 41 protections with the first 3 ticks!

Divine Ruin

More lifesteal! Yaay! So, with this thing at level 3, Anubis can heal a great amount of his health from 1 line of minions. And since other mages tend to get lifesteal, the healing reduction shuts them down, forcing them to use more mana and use up their cooldowns. This can be especially handy against gods like Hercules, Aphrodite, Thanatos, and Hel. But buy this in place of Bancroft's Talon if your looking for a cheap item early game.

Gem of Isolation

So, aside from magic power, this is a good utility item, and can help out in teamfights. It gives health and mana, making you a little more tougher. But the real strong point is the slow. Slowed enemies spend more time in the range of your abilities, and thus, take more damage.

Rod of Tahuti

A must have for many mages. It's raw power, simple as that.

warlock's sash

If you're going to buy a stacking item, make it warlock's sash. Every minion you kill gives you magic power and extra HP, making you tougher as the game progresses. At max rank and max stacks, it gives about 600 extra health! That makes any mage harder to kill.

Book of Thoth

Unlike the warlock's sash, this item gives you more mana per stack, instead of HP. Normally, a god like Ao Kuang makes better use of it, and it's quite pricey, so if I had to buy it, I'd make it my third item.

Doom Orb

Last stacking item, promise! Anyway, if your enemy is being passive, buy this. You lose half the stacks when you die, so if your laning opponent isn't giving you too much trouble, there's less risk.

Ethereal Staff

This is the item for a tanky Anubis. It turns a percentage of maximum HP into power, so give Anubis either warlock's sash or Gem of Isolation to make the most of it.

Breastplate of Valor

Now we get into a little counter-building. Use this if the enemy has more than 3 physical gods on their team, and the extra mana and CDR is nice to have around.

Pythagorem's Piece

This item helps out a ton if your team has a lot of bursty mages. If you can convince other mages to buy Pythagorem's Piece, the overlapping lifesteal can help you all stay alive.

magi's blessing

Just as the name implies. This item is purely for defense, against teams with heavy CC. It's a good counterpick against gods like Arachne or Kumbhakarna.

Obsidian Shard

This acts like the Spear of the Magus, but is cheaper, and and the penetration is a set 33%. I only buy it if I'm in a rush.

Void Stone

This item is perfect for when both teams have lots of magic gods. It gives you power, it protects you against magic, and lowers protections so your magic allies can hit harder.

Salvation

No matter what god your playing as, ***ualt is the only and I mean ONLY gamemode to buy Salvation in. In every other gamemode, there is a better alternative to meditation of any kind. Get the blue buff, chug some mana potions, buy items with MP5, or learn to manage your mana pool better. Trust me.

Greater Aegis Aegis Pendant

If your against an enemy with an ultimate that has burst ( Poseidon's Release The Kraken! and Scylla's I'm a Monster), then pick up rank 1, especially if you're in the mid lane. Greater Aegis lets you activate it even when you're locked tight under CC. Aegis Pendant allows you to keep moving, but you can't take any other actions. Choose wisely.

Greater Purification

Since Anubis has no escapes, enemies will try to take advantage with CC. Beads are a safe bet against gods like Ares and Ymir.

Greater Blink Combat Blink

Surprise Mutha#$%a! Believe me when I say blink is an amazing active on Anubis. It helps you retreat, and can help initiate despite having no mobility on your own. Greater Blink helps close the gap and land your abilities, with a low cooldown. But Combat Blink is more of an escape under heavy fire, with longer time between each use.

Greater Sprint

This active acts as a cross between Greater Purification and blink. It does many things that help Anubis in a pinch. Retreat from danger, reach the frontlines faster, chase a weak enemy, and even make some mad jukes. And with low cooldown and slow immunity, it's basically a 'Get out of Jail Free' Card.

Anubis's plays the same as any other mid/solo laner. Farm. Ward. Push. Rinse and repeat.

I will say that solo and mid are different. Solo is less susceptible to ganks and have access to mana camps. Mid is easier to gank, but have more opportunities for XP and Gold from the mid camps and take less time to reach.

Use Grasping Hands to kill minions and Mummify to disrupt your enemy.

Anubis chains his abilites together. The order goes

Mummify -> Grasping Hands -> Death Gaze

If your ultimate is on cooldown, use Plague of Locusts instead.

But let's say you can't hit Mummify. If that is the case, use Grasping Hands to slow your opponent and make Mummify easier to land. In teamfights, Anubis contributes a single target stun and a ship-load of damage. Don't stay to close to the center of battle, or you'll be picked off quickly. Save Mummify to help save an ally or secure a kill. Only use your ult when you know you can hit it.

Now, here's a scenario. You've whittled down your lane opponent down to their last bit of health, but you've taken a lot of damage yourself. Your opponent draws closer, knowing that both of you can be easily killed. All of your abilities are on cooldown, so as of now, you have two choices. Either run away and wait for cooldowns to finish, or use auto attacks to attack anyway.

The latter will most likely get you killed. Only use auto attacks against minions and towers. Here's why.

1. Auto attacks slow your movement. Unless you have Hastened Fatalis (which you should never have on Anubis anyway), you will move slower and be easier to hit. Since Anubis has no abilities for his mobility, you'll have to rely on actives and simple running.

2. Magical auto attacks are rather weak. While this may be untrue for Freya and Chronos, most mages do not deal 100% of their magical power in basic attacks, unlike physical gods. If your desperate to deal damage, use your abilities and wait for cooldowns.

Anubis Also works well with other gods that can help 'chain-stun', like Eset, Ymir, and Chronos. Chain stunning is keeping a single enemy locked in stun with the use of several stunning abilities, one after another.

Here, I'll rank enemy matchups on a scale of 1-5. 1 being 'This god counters you completly' and 5 is 'Don't worry about this guy. You can shut him down.' These are some of the more common gods Anubis will face in mid or solo.

Agni 4/5

Agni is a very common mid laner, if not the most common. He has wave clear, poke, stun, and a dash. A smart Anubis can use whatever Agni uses to waveclear against him. Be careful, however,

Noxious Fumes has low damage on its own, but do be wary of the stun. Agni can deploy it quickly so you don't have time to react.

Flame Wave may deal plenty of damage, but it lacks range. If Agni gets close enough to the minion wave to use it, Anubis can easily put his Grasping Hands to reach him. Positioning on this is key.

Path of Flames is Agni's main form of escape. He can dash through the minions to damage, but he'll be right next to Anubis, to get stunned.

Rain Fire has a low cooldown, so chances are Agni will use it to poke. If you are a safe distance away from the minion wave, he can only poke or waveclear. Doing both with this move is tricky.


Vulcan 3/5

Vulcan's main waveclear stems from Magma Bomb with some additional hits from Inferno Cannon. His cannon is easy to take out, due to its low health early game. Grasping Hands can be used to destroy the turret if it's close enough, so the real threat comes from Magma Bomb. Be sure to let the minions that the blunt of the damage, as the stun may set you up to be killed.


Eset 1/5

Isis is Anubis's biggest counter. She has a stun and a silence to hit you with if you use Plague of Locusts. Her Wing Gust Makes her especially mobile, and hard to hit with Death Gaze. Her mobility out matches yours, and can out-CC you. Additionally, if you ult, Eset may pop Circle of Protection, and the damage you deal will quickly charge the circle, and reflecting the damage to you. It's worth mentioning Eset can deal up to 4000 damage with a full charge!


Scylla 1/5

All of Syclla's abilities can counter and annoy the daylights out of you. Sic 'Em pins you down, Crush is like a nuke to you and your minions, and Sentinel acts like a free Ward and escape from your ticking abilities. Even her ult out damages you, and she'll give you a rough time.


Janus 4/5

Janus sacrifices some of his clearing ability for mobility. While his Unstable Vortex deals the most damage out of all his moves (minus his ult), it's not as easy to aim. Play Janus yourself so you know the portal's path like the back of your hand and avoid it. Secondly, Portal. Getting yourself stuck in it is bad news, but if Janus falls through it, he'll be a sitting duck while you can land your Mummify an d Grasping Hands combo. And if he escapes, no worries. Less farm for him. Place a few wards just in case, and use (VFF) if you need to.

Ao Kuang 2/5

Whereas Eset has mobility and CC more than damage, Ao Kuang focuses primarily on power. While Slither isn't the best escape for a mage, it's better than having no escape at all. Tornadoes act as a better waveclear, since they hurt enemies even after they leave the radius. Ao Kuang is a very spammy god, so if you want to stand a chance against him, make sure you are not in his Tornadoes, then waveclear for yourself.

Aphrodite 3/5

You'll probably see her in the solo lane. Being stunned by Kiss is your biggest concern, since she'll follow up with healing herself and damaging you and your minions. Divine Ruin is a good buy against her, along with one other penetration item. You'll want to land your own stun combo before she lands hers, which damage her and cut down healing.

Do-

- Use your stun to help teammates
- Use your 1 and Ult only when you can hit them
- Buy lifesteal
- Dissuade the enemy from diving / initiating.

Don't-

- Buy items with basic attack-attributes (eg, demonic grip, witch blade)
- Initiate against multiple enemies.
- Use Plague of Locusts to clear minions (Jungle camps are okay, though)
- Waste Mummify on a CC immune target